In improving the education system, as well as the awareness of students to learn more, it is essential to acknowledge the interest and engagement of the students to use technology. It’s a new set of opportunities for both students and teachers in making the learning and teaching more effective. In today’s continuous technological advancement, it is not surprising that education will also benefit from this kind of innovation. Thus, many are quite interested in implementing education technology to efficiently acquire new learning experience and enhance one’s learning capacity. When education technology is successfully implemented in each every classroom, what advantages students and teachers can expect?

Improved Knowledge Retention but... With the help of education technology, students seem to be practicing active participation. When there are high interest and significant engagement, they are expected to obtain better retention of knowledge.  On the other hand, when technology is overused it can be ineffective.  We are starting to see how device usage and screen time is causing addiction in adults as well as students.  At least 72% of all children have at least one device in their bedroom, causing sleepless nights.   

The suggestion still stands, one hour of screen time is enough... keep this in mind during the school day.

Better Classroom Collaboration Various online activities can make students practice collaboration. Education technology can connect students while pushing a collaboration within similar classroom and school or even a learning environment across the globe. They can work on a variety of projects using collaborating with others in a virtual learning environment.  Technology provides many opportunities but I worry about the 1:1 initiatives that spend a limited amount of time collaborating.  It is OK for students to share a device, collaboration is key and this is where great discussion happens.  Keep this in mind when moving in this direction.

Enhanced Teaching Methods Technology offers limitless online resources where teachers can utilize different reputable apps and site to enhance their traditional means of teaching. To save time, they can take advantage of grading software, online assessment, and practical lesson plans.  On the other hand, despite the benefits of education technology, some teachers and individuals are still against it. As a result, education technology is not yet applicable to some learning centers. Below are some of the challenges that education technology implementation is facing:

Lack of Access to Technology Let’s face it, not every student owns a computer unit or has a computer access at home. Also, the bad news is that some students who have tight finances are with worse grades. If they cannot afford similar digital competencies as others, they might end losing interest and confidence to learn.

Teaching Method and Materials for Education Technology are Costly From time to time, technology changes. This means that you also need to adopt these changes to ensure that you are effectively getting the benefits. Furthermore, it will take you a lot of time to practice to determine whether you are efficient enough with the teaching method. When you are about to find the right rhythm, technology starts to change again. As a result, the learning, teaching method, as well as the school system, are disrupted.

Difficulty in Integrating Technology in the Classroom Some schools and teachers find it hard to integrate educational technology in the classroom. The expertise of the teachers is challenged where they need to understand the content, method, and technology itself. It does not mean that they are not good at technology, but it is more of they are comfortable with the system they are doing efficiently.

Conclusion Through education technology, it is possible to improve the learning process of the students, and teachers can innovate their teaching method. Sometimes we can work to alter their usage, if you’re interested in this check out Children and technology: 10 Steps to control thier usage. However, it is good to know whether both students, teachers and schools are ready for the advantages as well as the challenges they might encounter before the implementation.

References:https://www.teachthought.com/technology/something-to-consider-before-adopting-technology/

https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/why-some-teachers-are-against-technology-in-education/

http://screen.guide/advice/5-negative-impacts-of-technology-in-children